


My Heart, Body, and History

by Marlon



Series: Oops, I Summoned a Demon [5]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Apothecaries, Birthday, Established Relationship, Gift Giving, M/M, Roman medicine, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:54:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14639390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marlon/pseuds/Marlon
Summary: Kylo's birthday is approaching and Armitage is looking to find the perfect gift. A shopping trip with Rey leads to some family bonding time, a lesson in ancient Roman medicine, and a job offer.





	My Heart, Body, and History

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a Christmas fic and then I ran out of time so it was repurposed into Kylo's birthday (that's why it's still winter in the story!). A thousand thank yous to Christoph for being my first reader, head cheerleader, and for literally hand-delivering one of the most important sources I used for Armitage's medical knowledge! I couldn't have done it without you!
> 
> Oh, some notes about the casual Latin that Armitage drops in this story:  
> Ave - Hail  
> Vale - Farewell  
> tabernum - a shop (he uses this to mean anything from the Starbucks across the street from Kylo's university, to the fancy grocery store he and Rey shop at)  
> Felix Natalis - Happy Birthday

_I’m calling you_

_Oh my god why??? Who died?_

_No one! What is wrong with you? I’m dialing now…_

Kylo squints at the phone in consternation, Rey never called when she could just text and certainly never before noon. The phone chirps as Rey’s smiling face appears on the screen.

“Rey?”

“Hey, coz, I need to talk to Armitage, can you put him on?”

Kylo holds the phone away from his ear in surprise. He lowers his head to the kitchen table and sighs as he brings the phone back to his ear.

“What did he do?” His voice is muffled by the piles of notes and books.

“Nothing, nothing!” She promises heartily. “I just need to talk to him about something.”

“I thought you didn’t like him?”

“I don’t recall saying I didn’t like him, I just suggested you may not want to take up with the Dark Lord of Chaos is all.”

Kylo laughs weakly. “Right, ‘Dark Lord of Chaos’, he’d like that.”

When he and Armitage arrived home after their Halloween adventure in Edinburgh, Rey had taken one look at the rings on their hands and the way Armitage had hovered protectively around Kylo, and just shook her head. Kylo assumed that meant she would probably welcome Armitage as a member of the family, even if she was still slightly suspicious about him and his frightful past. On the phone, Rey clears her throat dramatically to interrupt Kylo’s woolgathering.

“And since you didn’t listen to me about that anyway… can you put him on?”

Kylo sits up, listening for any telltale rumblings from the bedroom. “He’s still asleep.”

“Oh my goddess,” she squawks, “it’s nearly eleven. That lazy demon! Put him on this instant.”

“Okay, fine.” Kylo shoves his chair back from the table. “It’s your funeral.”

The line goes spikey with static as Rey laughs and laughs, Kylo grins as his bare feet skim over the threadbare rug in the narrow hallway leading to their bedroom. He can barely contain the happy bounce in his step at Rey’s change of heart - that she’s finally come around to Armitage means a lot to him. Her thoughtful advice and strong opinions had always mattered to him, even when they were small.

Kylo pokes his head in the dimly lit bedroom, grey light from the wintry day outside flooding through the gaps in the drapes. The bed is a mess of fluffy blankets and quilts all bunched in the middle of the bed - the only evidence that the bed is occupied at all is the soft, throaty purring emanating from beneath the mound of blankets. Kylo crosses the room on silent feet and gently sits down on the side of the bed.

“Hey, Armitage.” He pats at one of the knots of blankets cautiously. “Are you awake?”

The blankets heave and roll then scrunch into a tighter knot as Armitage turns over, pulling the fabric more securely around himself. Kylo pokes at what he hopes is Armitage's shoulder.

“Wake up.”

Armitage hisses quietly as the window rattles feebly in its frame. Kylo tugs at a corner of the blanket, trying to find an opening. He yanks the blankets upwards, peering under to see Armitage’s golden eyes glaring balefully at him from the depths of the darkness.

“The phone’s for you.” He smiles as the golden glare narrows, flutters, then disappears. Armitage’s rumpled head pops out from beneath the blankets, his beautiful red-gold hair falling into his eyes. He slithers out from his cocoon of blankets and prowls on his hands and knees across the bed towards Kylo, hips swaying sinuously.

Kylo quickly brings the phone back to his ear. “Ah, Rey, maybe I should call you back?”

“What, no! It’ll just take a minute, I promise!”

Rey’s voice is tinny and far away as Kylo’s senses fill up with the golden creature creeping toward him across the bed. He gasps quietly, still mindful that Rey is listening, when he finds himself with a lapful of warm, writhing demon. Armitage’s rosy skin is sleep-warm and soft and Kylo’s free hand goes automatically to its usual resting place on Armitage’s rump. Armitage’s rumbly purr vibrates through his whole body. Kylo squeezes, pulling him closer.

“Armitage, Rey’s on the phone for you.” Kylo holds the phone out to him.

“Hmm.” Armitage rumbles pleasantly in Kylo’s ear as he takes the phone from Kylo. “ _Ave_ , Ray of Light.” His voice hisses and shivers over Kylo’s skin causing him to shudder in pleasure.

In his lap, Armitage sits up, smiling, as he listens to whatever Rey is telling him. Kylo leans back against the pillows, rubbing little circles with the pads of his fingertips across Armitage’s skin. Armitage purrs softly and pushes back into Kylo’s hands, his eyes flashing mischievously. Although Kylo can’t hear what Rey is saying, he assumes it must be good because it has Armitage smiling and all but wiggling with delight on Kylo’s lap.

“Alright,” Armitage nods to himself, eyes on Kylo, “I will meet you there. _Vale._ ”

He disconnects the call and lets the phone fall from his hand to land on the floor with a thud.

“Hey!” Kylo protests but he’s quickly silenced as Armitage rolls them so that Kylo ends up nestled between Armitage's long legs. He pushes back to sit on his knees, hands resting lightly on Armitage’s trembling belly. “What was all that about?”

Armitage arches his back as he snakes his hands up the bed to grasp the rungs of the headboard. He wraps one long, pale leg around Kylo’s hips and raises his other to rest his ankle on Kylo’s shoulder. Kylo slides a hand up Armitage’s leg to cup his dainty ankle and he holds Armitage in place so he can better mouth hot, wet kisses on that perfectly arched foot.

Kylo noses his way down Armitage’s long, shapely leg, pressing a smile into the sensitive skin behind his knee as Armitage snorts a high-pitched giggle then tries to cover it up with an unconvincing, shaky hiss.

“The Ray of Light has sworn me to secrecy.” Armitage lifts his other leg up to rest on Kylo’s shoulder, groaning with delight as Kylo leans forward, nearly bending him in half. “Do your worst, little one, I’ll never tell.”

“My worst, huh?” Kylo slides his hands around Armitage’s wrists, pinning him thoroughly to the bed as he captures his mouth in a biting, breathless kiss. He knows the demon could break his hold effortlessly but, for the moment, they both enjoy the illusion that Kylo can actually pin Armitage to the bed. Kylo presses kiss after worshipful kiss to Armitage’s mouth but he can’t make him do anything more than sigh and purr with delight.

The bed begins to vibrate as the lights in the hallway flicker wildly and in a flash, Kylo finds himself on his back with a triumphant Armitage sitting astride his chest, his eyes gleaming like molten gold.

“An admirable effort, little one, but not quite enough,” Armitage leans down to whisper across Kylo’s kiss-bitten mouth. Kylo reaches up to pull him down to his chest, Armitage comes willingly, nestling his face in the curve of Kylo’s neck, his tongue flicking out to lap at Kylo’s flushed skin.

“Are you going out today?” Kylo runs his hands down the curve of Armitage’s back, causing him to trill in delight.

“Yes, but later.” He nuzzles into Kylo’s neck as Kylo’s hands come to rest on his rump. “And you, my love, when are you going to campus?”

“I have a class at one, then office hours.” Kylo sighs as he runs his hand up Armitage’s back and threads his fingers into his silk-soft hair. “Mid-term exams are coming up so I expect a lot of students in for extra help.”

Armitage hums. He kicks his legs up behind him as he crosses his arms on Kylo’s chest, resting his chin on his arms. “But you do not have to leave just yet?”

“Nope,” Kylo tenderly cups the back of Armitage’s head, “what should we do? Bed, bath, or breakfast?”

“Can we have waffles?” Armitage smiles, batting his eyelashes as if Kylo could ever deny him anything.

Kylo sits up, pulling Armitage with him so he can kiss the tip of Armitage’s long nose. “Anything you want, you know that.”

Armitage’s smile is so blinding that Kylo nearly has to look away. Nearly. But not quite.

\----

Londinium or London, or even Llundein, however the city is called, to Armitage’s ancient eyes it has changed in incomprehensible ways but, in some respects, it has been as it always was. It’s still a busy, bustling place attracting people from all over the empire - that part hasn’t changed, only the people in charge. The sun has well and truly set on the Roman empire Armitage reminds himself as he crosses the street toward the train station. He wasn’t there at the end of the world, when that shining city on the seven hills fell, never to rise again, when the praetorian guard used him and then sent him away, putting an end to his centuries-long relationship with the Roman emperors and their generals. He tries to be pragmatic about it - there had been other leaders to serve, after all, other empires to build up and tear down and in those old glorious days, the war machine was always churning and there was still plenty of fun to be had, no shortage of enemies to lay waste. But still, the Romans and their empire is long gone and he’ll probably not see anything quite like them for a long time, if ever.

Armitage admires the energy of this new London even if some of the buildings have changed. There is still a great basilica in the city but it’s no longer the tallest, most imposing building on the horizon. And no protective, all-encompassing city wall either. Armitage eyes the hoards of people swarming past him at the turnstile and spilling down the stairs with concern. For all their frenetic energy, they seem completely secure without a city wall? Armitage shakes his head. Kylo had taken him, one afternoon, into the old city to see the remains of the Roman wall and the roots of the amphitheatre where citizens and competitors alike had dreamed of glory. He didn’t know how to feel looking at the crumbled remains of a civilization he knew so well. Was there still a place for him in this new city?

As Armitage hurries down the steps to the trains he spies an ethereal woman drifting up the stairs toward him. She has long silvery hair and a beautiful pair of antlers spiraling out of her head. She nods to him as she passes. Armitage smiles to himself, the physical city may have changed but as long as the powerful ley lines continue to criss-cross the city and the surrounding countryside, Londinium will always thrum with the spiritual and earthly energies that call to human and fae alike.

Feeling somewhat reassured by this thought he moves toward the train with a bounce in his step and with a graceful skip he boards the carriage. Settling into a seat, Armitage gazes at his reflection in the window as the train jerks into motion and rolls out of the station. He supposes that even he has changed, just like the city, it’s inevitable - they both have to change if they want to survive. He snuggles into his sturdy gambeson, a gift from Kylo upon his return. He knows he no longer needs to live in his armor but he’s grateful for the warmth and protection the modern gambeson provides - one can never be too sure that there aren’t rogue bands of Celts ready to stir up trouble again. He surreptitiously surveils his fellow passengers darkly from beneath his sweep of shining hair - a millennium on the battlefield taught him nothing if not to be prepared at all times. If only his beloved would let him have a sword, he’d feel better about his ability to protect their castellum with a fine sword at his hip.

The train shudders to a stop, shaking thoughts of old enemies out of his head. Gathering up his messenger bag, Armitage shoulders his way through the crowds and onto the platform. He just has to transfer to the Underground and he’ll be at Piccadilly in a matter of minutes.

Even though Kylo grumbles about the Underground frequently, Armitage thinks it's a miracle of engineering and construction. He’s managed to cross from their cozy home in Peckham all the way to the centre of the new city in minutes, and considering that he’s used to marching on foot for weeks to get from one part of the empire to the other, sitting in a humid, over-crowded train carriage is a small price to pay for such convenience. The Roman generals he’d served with would have loved such a miraculous mode of transportation.

As he ascends the stairs to exit the station at Piccadilly, he takes his card from his pocket and swipes it at the turnstile with practiced ease. Armitage knows that Kylo fears for him out in the city alone and he’s not sure if his beloved is worried about what could happen to him, or what mischief he himself might get up to. Armitage smiles to himself as he exits the Underground into the cool, damp day. He’s in no danger from any beings in the city - human, fae, or otherwise - he’s more than capable of taking care of himself and passing unseen whenever he wishes.

He also knows that Kylo worries that he may be tempted to fall back into his ancient warbringer ways but he no longer has the stomach for such mindless warfare. Once, he would have found the idea of a life after the war to be distasteful and a waste of his abilities but now, he’s more than content to live in semi-retirement with Kylo. If he is being honest with himself, he knows that humanity no longer needs his special skills at warfare, they’ve moved beyond him in ways he can barely comprehend at times. Before Kylo, he hadn’t been summoned from his lonely existence in centuries and then like a miracle, Kylo pulled him from blackness. Even in his retirement though, he does like to cultivate the notion that he’s one step away from ushering in the end times, it would ruin his reputation irreparably to appear too tame and biddable.

He crosses the street to wait at the imposing and rather gaudy fountain, in his opinion, in the middle of the pavement. The Ray of Light said she would meet him here, in the shadow of Anteros. Armitage glares up at the winged statue atop the fountain - the sculpture looks nothing like the god. As if a god’s likeness could ever be truly captured by human hands, Armitage snorts.

“Armitage, you made it!”

He turns to see Rey hurrying across the square toward him. She smiles as she draws closer.

“ _Ave_ , Ray of Light, are you well?”

“I am.” She slips her hand into the crook of his elbow to guide him down the steps of the fountain and toward Piccadilly where their destination awaits.

They come to an elaborately styled building a little way down the block. The six tall, evenly spaced windows along the front of the store are decked out with beautiful displays that show off the store’s wares. Armitage has never considered himself one for fripperies, but even he is enchanted by the charming displays of food, flowers, and gifts in the windows.

Rey tugs him to a halt before he can haul open the heavy wooden doors and step into the wondrous store. She swings her carry-all around to the front and rummages around inside before pulling out a handful of blue passion flower blooms and stuffing them into the pockets of Armitage’s gambeson. He looks at her, one brow arched, golden eyes glinting.

“Your botanical magic has no effect on me.”

Rey laughs. “So you say, but humour me at least. The store is probably going to be crowded so just, don’t get riled up, okay?” She pats his arm before turning to head into the busy store.

Armitage snorts a laugh then follows her, a spring in his step, through the tall doors, and into the glittering store. Once inside, Armitage can understand why Rey came prepared with the _passiflore bleue_ \- as far as he can see, the large space is teeming with people. There are tourists snapping photos and admiring the displays as well as locals shopping for things for their tea. The room is not overwhelming, not for one such as he, but it is busy. The ceiling overhead is ablaze in light from several large chandeliers whose light reflects off every pristine surface. Table after table is filled to overflowing with delicate boxes of sweets, tins of biscuits, fruit baskets, and more. He slips a hand into his pocket and scoops up some of the dried blossoms, sighing as he clutches them tightly and they crumble to pieces in his pocket. He’d never admit it to Rey, or Kylo, but he’s touched by the lengths they go to keep him safe. Armitage quickly removes his hand from his pocket as he senses Rey’s attention turning back to him.

Rey accepts a silver basket from one of the greeters and turns back to him. “So, first off we should get that marmalade that Kylo likes. I think it’s over here.” She glances down to see tiny, blue bits of dried flowers dotting the cuff of his gambeson and smiles. Her eyes lift to meet Armitage’s, he shrugs. Rey giggles at his attempted nonchalance then tips her head toward the rest of the store.

“Come on, Lord of the Night Sky, let’s buy some birthday presents.”

She turns and nearly disappears into the throng of people, heading toward a table with attractively packaged jars of jams and jellies. He huffs a laugh at her cheek but hastily follows her nonetheless, not wanting to lose sight of her in the crowd.

“Here.” Stopping at the display table with the jams, Rey chooses a jar of cheerful orange marmalade and holds it up for Armitage to see. “Kylo likes this one but he hardly ever buys it for himself, it doesn’t fit with his ascetic lifestyle,” she rolls her eyes fondly, “and he thinks it’s a pricey extravagance.”

Armitage takes the small jar from her, turning it over in his hands. He looks at the tag on the bottom of the jar, unsure if the £10 price tag is overly expensive or not. They have a jar of this preserve in the cupboard at home, or they had, until last week when Armitage wolfed down the last of it with his toast and eggs. A guilty flush heats his face. He puts the small jar in the basket and turns back to the display.

“Let’s also get this one.” He selects a jar of strawberry jelly. He knows Kylo had a fondness for _fraga_ , strawberries he corrects himself, but they’ve had no luck growing them in the garden.

Rey nods, holding out the basket. They begin to move further into the store, stopping at different tables, perusing all the items. Armitage selects tins of hard candies, biscuits dipped in chocolate and caramel, and a jar of high-quality honey for tea, all things he knows Kylo will like but wouldn’t buy for himself. Again, Armitage flushes uncomfortably because he knows with certainty that his beloved would buy these things for him if he asked. Now, he aches to return the favour, spoiling his love with the most extravagant gifts he could find.

After a few more minutes in the store, the crowds begin to close in and Armitage starts to get snappish. The lights are too bright, there are far, far too many people in the way, it’s also unbearably loud with the canned music spilling from the speakers and the chatter of all the patrons’ voices meld into a cacophony of noise. People keep clumsily blundering into him, and one person actually pushed Rey out of their way and to top it all off, all the gifts they’ve picked out are nice, but they don’t convey the depth of feeling he has for Kylo. 

Armitage grits his teeth in frustration, a deep and menacing growl rumbles in his chest, causing the lights overhead to flicker. Armitage turns to glare at the display table of offensively sumptuous cakes, piled high with frothy frosting and delicate flowers and pearls.

With his magic gathering in his hands, fingertips aglow, Armitage hisses irritably to himself. Rey, sensing that he’s out of sorts, calmly steps up to his side. She again digs through her carry-all but this time, instead of pulling out loose blooms, she extracts a beautiful flower crown composed of passion flowers, pennyroyal, and vervain weaved together with gardener’s twine. She plunks it on his head. 

“I knew I’d need this.” She mutters to herself as she ties it in place. She places her hands on his shoulders and pins him in place with a long stare. “Settle down, we’re almost done here.”

He glares at her as the crown slips down over one ear, he pushes it back into place with a hiss, but Rey refuses to be intimidated. She merely crosses her arms and throws back an equally defiant glare.

“I look ridiculous,” Armitage grumbles, clenching his glowing hands tightly at his side.

“Oh hush, just let the vervain and passion flowers do their work. No one is looking at you anyway.”

From the other side of the table, a woman scoffs under her breath. Rey and Armitage turn in unison to level a glare at her. She bustles away quickly, hips swaying and throwing a dark-eyed look at Armitage over her shoulder, fluttering her lashes at him. He sneers at her retreating back.

Rey just rolls her eyes at his theatrics and lightly punches his shoulder to get his attention. “Alright, now that’s sorted, is there anything else you want to get for Kylo’s birthday?”

Armitage glances around the busy store, the frenetic energy of so many people in one enclosed space ripples over his skin and a headache begins to needle at his temples. Suddenly, inspiration strikes him like a bolt from the blue.

“Does this merchant sell herbs or infusions?”

“You mean like loose herbs or tea?”

Armitage nods. “Sometimes the little one has difficulty sleeping, and suffers from headaches or stomach ailments.”

Rey looks concerned. She reaches up to adjust his flower crown then squeezes his shoulder.

“So you’re thinking of some kind of herbal remedy for headaches, insomnia, and such?” She asks, a hint of professional interest creeping into her voice.

“Yes.” Armitage nods. His fingertips tingle as his magic fades away for the moment and he smiles to himself thinking fondly of Kylo. “Some sort of tisane would be helpful to start.”

“The tea section is over here.” Rey nods in the direction of a long counter staffed by harried clerks, dashing to fetch canisters of loose tea from the display shelves behind them. “I don’t know if we’ll find exactly what you’re after here though, this really isn’t that kind of store.”

Armitage eyes the sparkling silver canisters critically.

“I think you are right but let us look, even a _tabernam_ such as this should have basic medicinal herbs.” He raises an eyebrow skeptically. “I highly doubt they will have healing amulets or stones.”

Rey hides her smile in her scarf. “Probably not, but let’s look.”

She slips her hand into the crook of his elbow and walks him over to the counter. Setting their full basket down by her feet, she waves at one of the clerks as she straightens up again. A young man in a neatly pressed white shirt hurries over to them.

“Yes, hello, what can I get for you today?”

“Armitage?” Rey turns to him. “What would you like first?”

“We will be needing several items and it is important we acquire them all.”

“I’ll certainly try my best to help you, sir, what can I fetch first?”

To his credit, the clerk doesn’t shrink away from the tall, severe-looking man with the golden glare and the inexplicable flower crown. Armitage regards him coolly for a minute, then appraises the canisters behind him on the tidy shelves.

“I think Chamaemelus, to start. It has warming properties and I think my beloved will find it exceedingly soothing.”

“Ah, right?” The clerk looks between the two of them in askance. His gaze skitters nervously over Armitage’s fierce features and lands on Rey’s bemused smile with relief. She taps her finger against her lips, thinking.

“Chamaemelus? Soothing but with warming properties, you said?”

“It is a plant that everyone knows, Ray of Light, white petals with a yellow button in the centre.”

“Oh! Do you mean Chamomile?”

The clerk looks relieved as he whirls away to retrieve the canister of loose tea leaves. He sets it down in front of them and whisks the lid off with a flourish.

“Is this what you’re after?”

Once the lid of the container is removed, the soothing, familiar scent of chamomile envelopes Armitage. He sighs as he leans forward to sniff daintily at the tea, one hand carefully holding the delicate flower crown in place. His eyes drift closed as the familiar scent of the tea wafts up from the tin. He smiles.

“Ah yes, that is Chamaemelus.”

The clerk takes the canister over to the scale and begins to measure out their portion Armitage regards the other decorative tins suspiciously.

“Rey, do you think they will have Menta?”

“Mint? I should think so, it’s a popular tea. The mint will also be beneficial if Kylo has stomach aches.”

“I believe so, yes, Menta has many excellent properties. Did you know it can also cure hiccups?”

“Really?” Rey says, with a laugh. “I didn’t know. Does Kylo get hiccups often?”

Armitage rumbles warmly. “He does not, happily.”

The clerk returns at that moment with their tin of chamomile and they send him off again for green mint, or peppermint, whichever the tea shop has on hand. Rey looks up at Armitage curiously, a thoughtful smile on her face.

“So, what else would you prescribe for headaches, insomnia, stomach troubles?”

“For a headache, I have always found Aphroselinum and Psyllium to be most effective.” He looks doubtfully at the shelves. “But I do not think we will find them here.”

“Psyllium? That’s fleawort, right? It looks a bit like hay?”

“Yes! Excellent, you know of this? Only the tiny, black seeds are required for the treatment.”

“And what’s the other one - Aphroselinum - that doesn’t sound like a plant.”

“Correct again,” Armitage’s smile dazzles, “it is a stone that can only be found in Egypt and only those of the clearest azure will do. When consumed, it is most effective in relieving chronic headaches.”

Rey nods as she pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket. “They definitely won’t have those two items here but let me text Dad, we may have at least the fleawort in stock at the apothecary.”

As they wait for Luke’s reply, the clerk returns with their peppermint tea. And, after a heated debate and some frantic internet searching, they discover that when Armitage asks for Glycyrhiza, he means liquorice root. The clerk hastens to gather up the discarded canisters to return them to their proper places on the shelf then Rey and Armitage watch as he frantically searches for the teas that contain liquorice. Rey turns to Armitage, her face serious.

“You know the side effects of liquorice, right?”

“Of course.” Armitage counts off on his fingers. “For all it’s healing properties, Glycyrhiza may also cause weakness, swelling, and an irregular heartbeat.” He sweeps up Rey’s hand in his and squeezes warmly. “Have no fears, I will let no harm come to Kylo.”

Rey regards him thoughtfully again, then smiles. As she takes a breath to respond, the clerk chooses that moment to return, plunking down three canisters in front of them.

“These are all the ones I could find with liquorice as a significant component of the blend.”

With a frown, Armitage dismisses each blend as being too contaminated with useless flowery ingredients. He grows frustrated when the harried clerk informs him they don’t stock Sisymbrium, Nepita, Iris, or flame stone, and that things like fennel, pepper, and cinnamon are to be found in the spice aisle, and much to Armitage’s consternation, has never heard of Ruta, Marrubium, or Mora Syluatica. The lights flicker ominously overhead and Rey quickly hauls their basket of items up from the floor and shoves it into Armitage’s clenched hands.

“Armitage, let’s get the chamomile and the mint and then go to the apothecary. You can choose what you want from our inventory, and Dad texted back to say that we do have some fleawort in stock.”

She scoops the two tins of tea into their basket as she nods her thanks to the clerk, hustling Armitage away from the counter.

“What sort of _tabernum_ is this, Ray of Light? That boy had never heard of Marrubium! What nonsense.”

“This isn’t a dispensary.” She explains patiently. “This is just a jumped-up grocery store, and no one calls Horehound ‘Marrubium’ anyway.”

Armitage huffs to himself, muttering under his breath as he allows Rey to bundle him into the queue to pay. Rey produces a canvas tote bag from her carry-all as they approach the till and she watches silently as the cashier rings through their purchases, a look of concentration all over her face. They pay the bill and Armitage slings the tote bag over his shoulder and follows Rey out of the store.

“Actually, Armitage, I have an idea I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.” Rey glances up at him as they tumble out of the store and onto the busy street. Armitage glances down at Rey curiously as they step aside to allow other customers to leave the store.

“What sort of idea, little sister?”

Rey’s smile wobbles slightly at the endearment then she recovers. She rises up onto her toes and carefully unties the flower crown, its soothing effects no longer needed now that they were out of the store. She stows the crown away in her bag and takes his elbow and together, they head towards the Underground station.

“A job offer, of sorts.”

“ _Oh._ ”

\----

Kylo knows he has students waiting. He can hear them whispering and shuffling around in the hallway but he just has to get this email written and sent before four to try and catch the rare books librarian before she leaves for the day.

He’s just finishing up the email when he notices that the students in the hallway have gone deathly silent. He swivels around in his chair, intent on checking on them when they suddenly burst into furious whispering and high-pitched giggles. Kylo glances up to see that the other graduate student, Isobel, has come out of her office to investigate the racket. He’s halfway out of his chair when Armitage swans into his small office, a pleased smile on his face, and the excited fervour in the hallway now makes sense.

As Armitage glides toward him with the fierce, dramatic grace of a dancer, Kylo wonders how the demon ever manages to pass for a regular human when he looks anything but. Whatever has put Armitage in such a good mood has lent a ruddy glow to his already golden skin and made his eyes positively glitter. With his hair swept back from his forehead in careless waves and the burnished red-gold tones of his skin and hair contrasting with the deep green gambeson, he looks positively celestial.

Armitage prowls toward Kylo, purring happily in his throat. He carelessly lets his messenger bag fall from his shoulder onto one of the two rickety chairs Kylo has placed in front of his desk and sinks into Kylo’s lap.

“Little one,” he rumbles, clearly delighted to see Kylo, “are you well? I’ve missed you.”

He caresses the backs of his hands up over Kylo’s cheeks, curls them behind his ears, then sweeps them down to tenderly cup Kylo’s face. As he leans in for a kiss, Kylo captures his hands and presses a brief kiss to his knuckles.

“The door’s open, and my students are right outside,” he whispers.

With a careless twirl of his hand, Armitage conjures a gust of wind to gently push the door closed. Although the door doesn’t quite latch, it’s closed enough to give them some measure of privacy.

“That is much better.” Armitage settles himself more firmly in Kylo’s lap. He swoops down and claims Kylo’s smiling mouth before positively melting against Kylo’s broad chest and deepening the kiss.

Kylo releases Armitage’s hands so he can slip his hands down to catch Armitage around his hips, holding him safely in place. He scrutinizes Armitage’s slightly rumpled hair.

“Why do you have flower petals in your hair? In the middle of winter?” He reaches up and cards his fingers through Armitage’s luxurious hair, shaking the purple and deep blue petals loose.

Armitage sits back in Kylo’s lap, ruffling his hands through his hair to dislodge the errant petals. “That was Rey’s doing.” His bell-like laughter bubbles out of him and sings sweetly in Kylo’s ears.

“You’re in a good mood.” Kylo smiles as Armitage loops his arms around his neck again, delicate fingers tangling in the loose curls that have fallen from Kylo’s messy topknot. “Did you have fun shopping with Rey today?”

“I did, little one, we found many fine items and the Ray of Light asked if I would like to come assist her at her apothecary a few times a week.” Armitage glows with pleasure, pleased with himself.

“That’s fantastic, babe, I’m so glad you and Rey are getting along.” Kylo grins up into Armitage’s radiant face, squeezing his rump playfully. Armitage rumbles deep in his chest as he nestles closer to Kylo’s chest. “She’ll be happy to have the help and company. When do you start?”

“She said I could start next Friday when the shop will not be too busy, and then we’d close early and she would accompany me home.”

“Why, what’s next Friday?”

Armitage’s eyes widen slightly and he ducks to hide his face in Kylo’s neck. “Nothing at all, little one.” He noses around Kylo’s neck and jaw, pressing hot, damp kisses all the way from his ear to his mouth.

Kylo grins, letting it go. He catches Armitage’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, guiding him away from his neck and back to his mouth so he can dot tender little kisses on his lips and cheeks. 

“I have to get back to my students now. Will you wait for me? We can take the train home together.”

“Of course.” Armitage inches backward off Kylo’s lap. “I will go to the _tabernam_ across the way and then call back for you later.”

“ _Tabernam_?” Kylo whispers to himself. He really needs to brush up on his casual Latin. “I should be done by half four, but if it’s earlier, I’ll come meet you.”

He lets Armitage haul him to his feet. While Armitage adjusts the buckles on his gambeson, Kylo fetches his messenger bag from the chair and holds it out to him. Armitage takes the bag with a gracious nod and swings it over his shoulder. 

“Oh, wait.” Kylo strides over to where his jacket lies on the small sofa against the wall. He fishes around in the pocket and comes up with his black beanie. Tugging it over Armitage’s blazing hair, Kylo makes sure his ears are covered. “It looks like it might snow soon.”

“What about you?” Armitage laces their fingers together as he draws Kylo towards the door. “Will you not be cold on the way home?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have you to keep me warm.” Kylo leans in for a parting kiss which Armitage sighs into. He tucks a stray lock of Armitage’s fiery hair out of his eyes. “See you soon.”

Armitage smiles over his shoulder as he opens the office door. As the door swings open, the waiting students spring away like frightened deer. They pretend to lounge against the wall looking at their phones and feigning nonchalance as if they haven’t just been pressed up against the door listening. Kylo scrubs his hands through his frazzled hair, wanting to be stern with them but he can’t help but smile at the curious wide-eyed glances they wing Armitage’s way as he slinks out of the office and sways down the hall.

“Holy shit, Kylo,” one of them gapes, “that’s your husband?”

“No wonder you’ve been so happy this year,” says another, “he’s beautiful.”

Kylo groans as the overhead lights flicker. “Alright, settle down.” He hears Isobel laughing from inside her office and tries to frown at her but a smile tugs at his lips all the same. He ushers the four waiting students into his office and as they file in, still talking excitedly about his handsome husband, he watches Armitage’s retreating figure until he’s finally pushed through the glass doors at the end of the hall and has gone.

_He thinks he’s so clever_. Kylo smiles to himself as he turns back to his waiting students. Of course, he remembers what next Friday is. Rey and Armitage weren’t nearly as subtle as they thought they were. Clapping his hands once, he sits down at his desk.

“So, who's got questions?”

“How long have you been married?”

“Oh, for fuck- Cormac, you know I meant about the readings!”

\----

A week later, fluffy, gauzy snowflakes have started falling by the time Kylo turns the corner toward home. He tugs his collar and thick scarf up higher around his face, trying to shield himself from the onslaught of wet snow but it’s no use, the delicate flakes melt on his eyelashes and tickle his nose.

He’s only halfway down the block but he can see that Rey and Armitage are already home. The house glows brightly in the murky winter twilight - smoke gushes from the chimney thanks to a roaring fire in the fireplace, and the white fairy lights that line the front windows are twinkling brightly.

Kylo hurries the rest of the way home and bounds up the two steps to quietly let himself in the house, anxious not to spoil whatever surprise Rey and Armitage have in store. He shucks off his coat, shaking off the snow, then hangs it up beside Armitage’s gambeson and Rey’s gray woolen coat with the toggle buttons. He can hear the low rumble of Armitage’s voice coming from the kitchen followed by Rey’s astonished laughter.

He kicks off his boots and tiptoes through the foyer to peek into the parlour. As he thought, a fire is cheerfully crackling away in the hearth and the room is cozily illuminated by the fairy lights and their one remaining standing lamp. Glancing up, he’s delighted to see that the ceiling is covered with golden, silver, and white helium balloons all trailing long ribbons of metallic blues and reds. Above the fireplace, a homemade banner declares “Happy Birthday Kylo” in yellow die-cut letters and a few gifts and a large cellophane-wrapped basket sit on his desk. As he makes his way toward the kitchen, he notices that the house also smells faintly like lemon and burnt sugar. Suddenly, peals of laughter flood the hallway.

“Armitage! Oh my goddess, you’re not serious!”

“It is true,” Armitage rumbles happily, “the Emperor told me to either join in or get the hell out of the throne room.”

Kylo peeks his head around the doorframe and smiles to see Armitage and Rey attempting to decorate a cake. Rey is doubled over laughing so her attempts to pipe chocolate frosting around the edges of the cake go awry and she gets most of the icing all over the table. Armitage, for his part, is not helping her decorate at all but is busy licking up spoonfuls of the leftover chocolate icing from a small bowl in front of him, a bright smile on his already glowing face.

“Is that a lemon and chocolate cake?” Kylo inquires as he comes fully into the kitchen.

“Oh, coz, happy birthday!” Rey blows a kiss at him as Armitage smiles around his spoonful of icing.

Armitage sets down his spoon as Rey dives into a paper shopping bag for some candles. He comes around the table and presses a sugary kiss to Kylo’s lips.

“Happy Natal Day, little one, are you surprised?”

“Yes, absolutely, you completely fooled me.” Kylo slips his arms around Armitage’s waist, pulling him in for a hug. Rey snorts from the other side of the table.

“Oh please, you totally knew, as if you’d forget your own birthday!” She opens a packet of sparklers and sticks one into the centre of the cake. “Armitage, would you do the honours?”

Armitage tugs Kylo forward to the edge of the table. With glowing fingertips, he reaches out and taps the pad of his index finger against the sparkler. It flares to life in a shower of sparks and quickly fizzles its way down the stem and winks out in a wisp of white smoke.

“So, how does it feel to be 32?”

“Please don’t remind me,” Kylo groans, “I’m officially ancient now.”

Armitage bursts into loud, noisy guffaws. “Oh, my dear, that’s the most untrue thing I have heard in an age!”

Rey giggles as she picks up the pastry bag to finish decorating the top of the cake. Kylo just grins bemusedly at Armitage, who can’t seem to stop giggling and hiccuping. His mirth subsides for a second, only to bubble up again but when it finally peters out, Armitage snuggles in close, a fond smile on his face. Kylo plants a kiss to his forehead, sliding his arm around Armitage’s waist to pull him close. The front door clatters open then, interrupting the merriment in the kitchen.

“Hello?” Finn’s voice echoes down the hall. “We’re back!”

“Finn, you made it!” Rey calls back, handing the pastry bag to Kylo as she heads toward the foyer. “Did you get the food?”

She comes back a second later with Finn, Luke, and three bags of takeaway from the curry place around the corner. Kylo disentangles himself from Armitage to go set out plates and cutlery. Luke produces a bottle of champagne and very carefully pops it open, the cork flying into the hallway, the effervescent champagne bubbling over the lip of the bottle. Armitage digs out a set of plastic champagne flutes from one of the paper bags and Luke pours out a measure of everyone.

“Here’s to Kylo.” Luke raises his glass. “Happy husband to Armitage, the soon-to-be Doctor Ren, all-around excellent nephew, and cousin, may all your days be blessed ones. Happy Birthday!”

“Happy Birthday!” The others echo boisterously, clinking glasses with each other.

Rey tears into the first bag of food. Popping open a large container of paneer she inhales deeply as the mouth-watering scent of garlic and cumin fills the air.

“Dig in, everyone!”

\----

Once everyone had left for the night, Kylo and Armitage change into their sleep clothes and share the last piece of birthday cake by the warmth of the fire. Well, in theory, they share the piece of cake but in reality, Armitage steals as many bites as he can and unselfconsciously laps up every last bit of frosting from the plate, fork, and Kylo’s fingers. Once finished with the cake, Armitage bids Kylo retire for the night while he takes care of the fire and the dishes. It’s so unlike him that Kylo did as he was asked, curious where this was going.

Now cozily ensconced in their bed, Kylo waits in the pale yellow pool of light from the solitary lamp on the bedside table flipping through his pictures from the little party. He had taken quite a lot of photos of Armitage he realizes now looking back, but it was hard not too - Armitage, with his unusual looks and playful charisma, is remarkably photogenic. Kylo stops on a photo of Rey and Finn and smiles at the screen. In the picture, Rey is resting her chin in her hand, grinning up at Finn who has thrown his head back in a peal of laughter. Another photo shows Luke’s weary and weathered face, blue eyes calm and peaceful - it was the first time in a while Kylo had seen his uncle looking so relaxed.

Elsewhere in the small house, Kylo can hear Armitage rummaging around. The light on the table flickers as the tinkling sound of delicately breaking glass emanates out of the kitchen. Kylo sighs and sets his phone aside, ready to get up to see what new destruction Armitage is causing when the stealthy approach of soft feet on the hallway floorboard stays him. He settles back into bed as Armitage prowls into the room, a large neatly wrapped box in his hands.

“One last gift, little one.” Armitage’s presses the box into Kylo’s hands with a gentle smile. “ _Felix natalis_.”

Kylo accepts the gift and sets it in his lap, waiting for Armitage to join him before unwrapping it. He tries not to stare as Armitage makes a show of undressing, gracefully slipping his over-large soft cotton shirt up and over his head. Fully aware that he has Kylo’s attention, Armitage’s mischievous golden eyes glint playfully as he arches his back beautifully and lets the shirt flutter from his hand to the ground. Kylo holds out his arms for Armitage and he leaps into the bed, crawls over and burrows himself into Kylo’s side, purring happily.

“Open your gift.” Armitage rumbles as Kylo pulls him closer and presses a kiss to his hair. He wiggles with barely concealed delight. “Here, I will help you.”

He reaches for the ribbons but Kylo scoots the box out his reach. “Hey!” Kylo grins at him. “Hands off!”

Armitage growls playfully and nips at Kylo’s bare shoulder. “Hurry up, my love.”

Kylo settles the box back on his lap, pulling at the ribbons he tugs them loose and twins them around Armitage’s wrist. The demon props his chin up on Kylo’s shoulder so he can purr loudly and contentedly directly into Kylo’s ear. Kylo carefully splits the tape along the seams and pushes back the light blue paper to reveal a square white box. Lifting the lid, he sets it aside and gently lifts out an antique manuscript that is nestled in snowy white tissue paper. He scrutinizes the dusky brown cover with petite gold leaf designs embossed along the spine.

Gingerly, he opens the book and carefully turns the heavy vellum pages. He gasps quietly as he takes in the odd manuscript with the indecipherable writing. He knows this book. The odd flowing script with long stems and rounded bows, interpuncts and unusual accents, and mysterious glyphs is at once elegant and confounding. Kylo looks over at Armitage sharply.

“This is the Cluny manuscript.” He glances back down at the pages, running his fingertips over the words reverently. “I thought this went missing from the National Archives a year ago… _oh_.”

Armitage presses a smile to Kylo’s shoulder then rubs his cheek over the spot, extremely pleased with himself. “This is my manuscript, little one, it’s my record of battles fought, emperors, kings, and queens served.”

“You wrote this? The Cluny manuscript? No one has been able to translate this, people think it’s a hoax.” Kylo gingerly flips to a new page. “The paper and the inks all date to different periods in time, and different places. No one has been able to nail down the origin.”

Armitage harrumphs affronted. “This is no forgery, beloved, and of course no one can read it, I have written it in my own language which humans cannot speak.” He raises a hand, fingertips aglow, and sketches a circle counterclockwise in the air above the pages. A faintly glowing ring hovers the air, then he slashes his fingers through the circle, breaking it. “It is not a complete record, however, I only began keeping it when the Romans came calling. They so loved writing things down. And of course, there are gaps after the Romans - a soldiering life does not always leave much time for thought and reflection.”

Kylo drags his eyes away from Armitage’s wistful face and back to the book. The odd writing glows brightly as it responds to Armitage’s unlocking spell, reorganizing itself into modern day English and sentence structure, allowing Kylo to more easily read the text. 

“Whoa.” He murmurs under his breath, impressed, as Armitage rumbles happily in his chest. “How did you get it out of the archives? People can’t just go request this book, you have to have special permission and even then, you definitely can’t take it out of the secured rare book room.”

“It is my manuscript, little one, it will come to me when I call for it.”

“Oh,” Kylo says, slightly lost for words. He delicately turns another page. “And you’re giving it to me? Are you sure?”

“I am.” Armitage nestles closer, “I want you to have all of me - my heart, body, and history.”

With a muffled sob, Kylo drags him into his lap, enfolding him into his arms and burying his face into the humid curve of Armitage’s neck and shoulder.

“Fuck, Armitage, just—are you sure?”

“I am. My place is by your side, Kylo, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Kylo tugs him closer, cupping the back of his head gently. He presses a soft kiss to Armitage’s smiling mouth, his thumb rubbing hypnotic circles into the nape of Armitage’s neck.

“How does forever sound?”

“Good, little one, it sounds quite good.”

Armitage presses closer with a groan. The room fills with the soft susurrations of their skin on the sheets and Armitage’s rumbles of pleasure. Outside, the wind gusts around the house, rattling the windows and kicking up bursts of snow against the glass. Kylo begins to press Armitage down onto the bed and as he throws his hand out to brace himself, his fingertips brush the corner of Armitage’s manuscript.

“Oh, shit, we almost crushed the book.” Kylo struggles to sit up, pulling Armitage with him. Armitage insinuates himself back into Kylo’s arms, unwilling to leave the comforting warmth and security of his body.

“My manuscript has been through worse, little one, it once spent about a century hidden away in a crypt at Lindisfarne.” Armitage nips at Kylo’s ear. “It can withstand a few bodily fluids.”

“Ugh.”

Armitage hides his face in Kylo’s chest as he giggles. Kylo laughs with him, trailing his hands up and down Armitage’s back.

“Will you read it to me?”

Armitage nods and settles himself between Kylo’s legs, purring gently when Kylo hooks his chin over his shoulder. He nestles against Kylo with a soft sigh, pulling the blankets up around them to stay warm, and gently slides the manuscript closer.

“In AD 43, the Romans, lead by Aulus Plautius, sailed across the channel to make landfall in Rutupiae and I was with them…”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my bibliography for the section on Armitage's medical knowledge. This is by no means a complete list, these are the books and articles I could easily access without spending too much money.
> 
> Andrews, Alfred C. “The Mints of the Greeks and Romans and Their Condimentary Uses.” _Osiris_ , vol. 13, 1958, pp. 127–149. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/301646.
> 
> Andrews, Alfred C. “Alimentary Use of Lovage in the Classical Period.” _Isis_ , vol. 33, no. 4, 1941, pp. 514–518. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/330626.
> 
> Byrne, Eugene Hugh. “Medicine in the Roman Army.” _The Classical Journal_ , vol. 5, no. 6, 1910, pp. 267–272. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3286964.
> 
> Cruse, Audrey. _Roman Medicine_. The History Press, 2011.
> 
> Everett, Nicholas. _The Alphabet of Galen_. University of Toronto Press, 2012.
> 
> Nutton, V. “Medicine and the Roman Army: A Further Reconsideration.” _Medical History_ 13.3 (1969): 260–270. Print.
> 
> Riddle, John M. _Dioscorides on Pharmacy and Medicine_. University of Texas Press, 1985.


End file.
